Picturesque You and I
by kuusoukai
Summary: The five boys spend another simple day at the beach. Shun and Yuuta have thoughts about their future.


**Picturesque You and I**

_Back in our seventeenth spring, we just concerned ourselves with the little troubles of everyday life. The concept of an "adult" seemed so distant, so unrealistic. We thought that we would just continue to laugh together, forever._

* * *

The sound of cicadas can be heard from the distance. Tiny dewdrops from an earlier rain shower collect on the apple red rooftops, and a pleasant breeze sends a slight ripple through the puddles. No clouds were floating in the canvas of endless blue above. The tranquil scenery however, was soon interrupted by the rushed footsteps of five boys.

"Hurry up, Kaname-chi! Geez, you're so slow. Maybe I'll start calling you Kame-chi(*) instead."

The rude comment results in a smack on Chizuru's head by Kaname. The Asaba twins pretend not to hear as the two start bickering over turtles and whether they were really faster than hares or not.

Shun tries to make peace between them. "C'mon, we're almost there. I'll treat you guys to ice cream later, so stop arguing."

When the pandemonium of it stops, the boys slowly settle down into silence. However, it wasn't an uncomfortable sort of quiet. The occasional brushes of skin were casual and there were frequent attempts made by the twins to trip Kaname. Their shadows on the sidewalk stretched in the lazy sun and merged together, forming an enormous amoeba that crawled along. Summer vacation just started, and there was no dire summer homework that needed to be salvaged from under the bed just yet. The atmosphere was light and cheerful. The five of them were going to beach, at Chizuru's suggestion. They continued walking for a little while until Shun decides to break the silence.

"Say," He wonders. "What do you guys want to be when you grow up?"  
No one speaks for a while, and then Chizuru perks up. "Maybe the king of Japan!"  
"You idiot. When did Japan ever have a king in the first place," Kaname retorts. "And as for me, I would like to be a teacher perhaps. Or maybe a politician..."  
"Tch. Boring ideas from a boring person." Chizuru murmurs.  
"Or he was just influenced by Kaori-sensei." Yuuki adds.  
"Hm," Yuuta considers the fact. "I don't think so. Because aren't male teachers supposed to be lolicons? Wait, I see Kaname's preference has changed..."  
"Why, you-" The black haired boy flushes.  
"Don't mind, don't mind..." Shun gives a nervous laugh.

The conversation ends, and they continue to walk again. Chizuru starts humming an off-tune melody to himself. Then, Shun joins in, adding more sour notes to the dissonance. Kaname just scowls. As soon as they reach an incredibly high note, however, his patience was starting to run out. Fortunately, the outbreak of emotion was prevented by a sharp exclaim from Chizuru.

"Look! We're here!" He points to a speck of blue in the distance. "The beach! YAHOO!"

And for sure, just down the slope of the hill they were on, lies the ocean. Chizuru takes off without hesitation, with his arms spread out his airplanes. Yuuki and Yuuta shrug to each to each other, then follow him. Shun and Kaname exchange looks, then Shun decides to bolt off too.

* * *

The five of them stand on the sandy terrain of an overcrowded beach, now changed into their swimming attires. The chattering of other people all fade into an incomprehensible mumble in the background. The sun was bright overhead, and the light it casts bounces off the looping waves, creating a sense of the surreal.

"W-what...what was that..." Kaname was panting as he completed his quite unexpected exercise.  
"Haha!" Chizuru bursts out in laughter. "I really want to hand you a mirror right now. Your hair is a mess!"  
"And whose fault is that..."  
"Nevermind, that. It's the beach!" The blond runs for the sparkling blue water.  
"What are you, a kid…" Kaname mutters to himself.  
"Well, stop being so uptight, you old man." Yuuki gives him a pat on the back. He then gives himself a running start and cannonballs into the water. He then picks himself up a few seconds later. "Ow."  
"...Are you stupid. The water here is barely above two inches."  
"Oh."

Meanwhile, Shun was sitting in another corner, entertaining himself by making a sandcastle. However, his exquisite masterpiece soon collapses when he leans in to make final touch-ups. He frowns, then notices someone's figure towering over him. He raises his head and breaks into a smile.

"Hello there."  
"Shun, what's up?"  
"Oh, nothing much. My sandcastle just fell over."  
"Then, I'll help you fix it." Yuuta sits himself down beside the other boy.

They work on reviving the moat of the castle for a while, then Shun speaks up again.  
"Say, Yuuta-kun."  
"Yeah?" "We're practically third-years now, huh?" "Hm…yeah." "I might be…just the tiniest bit sad…I think." "Huh? Why?" "Well, we're graduating soon, you know."

"…"

"I mean, it's not like we've never graduated before…" He pauses. "It's just that…this time, it feels so different. It's like we're separating for good…do you know what I mean?" "...Like with our futures and such. And I doubt we'll be going to the same colleges." "Yeah." "So that's why you asked us about who we wanted to be earlier?" Shun nods.

"Shun, you never got to answer…so what do _you_ want to be?"

"…That's the thing. I-I don't know."

Yuuta didn't say anything for a long time. He turns his head and catches glimpses of Chizuru, as Kaname tries to strangle him underwater. Yuuki is cheering him on, with possibly fake enthusiasm. Shun follows his gaze. Oops, Chizuru manages to break himself out of Kaname's grasp, and now the situation is reversed. Chizuru has his arms locked tightly around Kaname while Yuuki snatches his glasses. The latter starts running around the perimeter of the beach with it. Kaname tries to blindly chase after him, but no avail. All he manages to accomplish is trip over someone's inconveniently extended foot.

"Yuuta-kun…"

"Yeah?"

"I was just thinking…what I would give if time just stopped right now…and we can continue living in these days forever."  
"…Yeah. Forever sounds nice."

* * *

The calls of the seagulls became less and less frequent as the world slowly sinks into a rueful crimson. The cumulus clouds that found their ways back into the sky are puffy and full, signally another beautiful day tomorrow. The light that once bounced off the waves ceased to shine, and the day falls into sunset. A slow, soothing wind picks up, carrying the faint smells of the sea with the five boys as they finally exited the now deserted beach, and boarded the train for home.

The old wheels of the vehicle creak with age each time it encounters the slightest bump. It might be a bit distracting to some, but the five boys didn't notice at all. Everyone was tired and, one by one, started to fall into a dreamless sleep. However, Yuuta had something else in mind that he couldn't just push away. He was thinking about Shun's worries from before. Now that he had seriously considered the matter, it started to unsettle him, and he didn't like that. But, eventually, he came to understanding that it was inevitable. Someday soon in the future, they would surely separate somewhere down the crossroad. Even Yuuki, who has been with him his entire life, would surely want to start a family of his own someday. Then, where would that leave him?  
Suddenly, his thought process was interrupted by a sudden outburst by Chizuru.

"Ah! Run, Yuuta! Yuuki turned into Bigfoot and he ate Shun! Kaname doesn't taste good so he's safe, but we're both in danger!" Chizuru starts shouting in his sleep. The unexpected loud noise wakes the rest of the boys up. Chizuru continues to deliver his exclaimations of goodwill.  
"What was that, you stupid monkey?" Kaname twitches in annoyance and rubs his eyes. "Someone's trying to sleep here…Wait, who did you call Bigfoot?"  
Shun bursts out laughing, then quickly covers his mouth. "Sorry," he grins sheepishly.

Yuuki starts poking Chizuru's face, and the sleeping boy slaps his hands away. He raises an eyebrow. "Are you sure he's really asleep?"  
"Only one way to find out…" Kaname mutters irritably. He then shoves his fingers up Chizuru's face. Chizuru frowns, then starts taking breaths from his mouth.

Kaname turns to Yuuki and blinks.

"…No comment." The other boy replies.  
"Say, how about we take a picture?" Shun suggests tentatively, taking out one of those disposable cameras. "You know, just to commemorate this uh...interesting moment." No one objects. So, they all crowd around the half-snorting, half-snoring face of Chizuru, and shout, "CHEESE!" The shutter sounds.  
"Oh, it doesn't matter." Yuuta finally says.

Kaname temporarily turns his attention away from Chizuru and to Yuuta. "What was that?"

"…Nothing." He then turns to look at Shun. Shun tilts his head, and gives him a questioning look. Yuuta just answers with the tiniest of smiles.

_I get it now. The mere fact that we are laughing here in the present is enough. Regardless of everything else, at least we can ascertain our presence at this place, this time.__  
_  
That in itself must be happiness.

* * *

(*) _Kame_ (亀) in Japanese means "turtle," so it's a play on Kaname's name.


End file.
